Apparatus used in the production,for example,of blanks of board,plastics,or other sheet material



T. D. BISHOP July 8, 1969 3,454,271

APPARATUS USED IN THE rnonucmon, FOR EXAMPLE. OF BLANKS OF BOARD,PLASTICS, OR OTHER SHEET MATERIAL Filed May 17, 1967 United StatesPatent '0 US. Cl. 27151 3 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The presentapparatus, used for driving board, comprises a pair of rolls, arotatable eccentric ring associated with one of the rolls, and a drivingring rotatably mounted on the eccentric ring and having an externalsurface for cooperation with the second roll to form a nip between suchsurface and the second roll for driving board through the nip. The axisof rotation of the driving ring is eccentric to the axis of rotation ofthe eccentric ring to permit such nip to be adjusted by rotation of theeccentric ring. The driving ring is driven from the first roll by anOldhamtype coupling.

Background of the invention This invention relates to apparatus forhandling board in the production of blanks, for use, for example mmaking cardboard boxes, and principally to slotters but may beapplicable to other cutting or creasing machines used in the production,for example of blanks of board or plastics, or other sheet material.

In the treatment of sheet like material which is passed through a rollpair, it is usually necessary to adjust the nip of the roll pair tocorrespond to the thickness of the material being passed therethrough.However, where the material is solid cardboard, for example, smallvariations in thickness my be accommodated without adjusting the nip byresilient deformation of the rings or strips of rubber or like materialwhich form the driving surface of the rolls, but where the material isdouble-faced corrugated board the nip must be adjusted more accuratelyotherwise the board will slip relative to the rolls if the nip is toolarge, or be crushed if the nip is too small.

Nip adjustment is inconvenient because the two rolls need to be directlycoupled for example by a pair of meshing gears and it will beappreciated that any variation in the nip involves variation in gearmesh with attendant difficulties. In the case of machines where nipvariation is unavoidable, the machines are often provided with a trainof four meshing gears, the centers of which are pivotally related, sothat mesh is unaltered when nip is adjusted.

In the case of slotters and in other machines having knives which are tocut through the thickness of the material, there is an additionalcomplication for normally the mesh of the male and female knives is notrequired to be altered even when the nip is varied, and this may involvethe use of knives which are radially adjusted and then nip adjustment iscomplicated because first the nip is altered and then the knives have tobe altered back to the original mesh.

When the board is not solid further complications and difiicuties areintroduced, for example, with corrugated board which comprises eitherone or two layers of relatively thin card provided with a sinuouslyfolded layer of possibly thinner or softer card on one face of the onelayer or between the two layers as the case may be, because of the riskof crushing referred to above. In this case it is is difficult to avoidcrushing the board if the ice roll nip is too small and this board isgenerally considered to be the most difiicult material to handle inconventional machines.

Summary of the invention The objects of the present invention are toprovide means which enable both gear and knife mesh to be unaffectedwhen nip adjustment is made.

In accordance with the present invention apparatus for handling boardcomprises a roll pair characterized by the provision of a driven band orblanket upon one roll which is adapted to be eccentrically locatedrelative to that roll axis and to be driven with the roll pair andarranged so that the spacing of the axes of the roll and the blanket orband may be varied during running of the machine, whereby the board maybe gripped in the nip, and the nip may be adjusted for difierentthicknesses of board without moving the actual shaft axis.

Brief description of the drawing The sole figure shows a cross-sectionof the rolls of a slotter in accordance with the invention.

Description of the preferred embodiment The slotter may be generally inaccordance with the description and drawings of prior United StatesPatent No. 2,710,061 and may be provided with a pair of rolls, onehaving a plurality, for example five slotter heads mounted thereon andadapted for lateral movement along the roll axis by individual shafts10, 11, 12, 13, .14 (the reference numerals used referring to thedrawing accompanying the present specification and not to the priorpatent unless otherwise indicated), which correspond to the shafts 37,37a of FIGURE 2 of the prior patent, each being keyed to a pinion in acorresponding slotter head but being free to rotate relative to thepinions in the other slotter heads. Then each shaft 10-14 turns acorresponding one pinion, and via an annulus in that head rotates thenuts (not shown), reference 31, 31a in the 'prior patent on threethreaded shafts 15-17, corresponding to the shafts 30, 30a in the priorpatent. Hence when any one shaft 10'-14 is turned in either direction,the corresponding slotter head is moved laterally along the shaft,without affecting the other heads. The shafts 10 14 are selectivelymovable by the same type of structure as provided in said prior patent.

The angular relationship of all of the slotting knives of all of theheads is controlled by drive bars, 22 corresponding to the drive bar 16in the prior patent, one of which (20) engages the slotter heads onlyand the other (22) also engages to drive the spiders hereinafterdescribed.

The ninth shaft 25 has no correspondent in the prior patent and thisauxiliary shaft carries a gear or gears 26 to mesh with a gear or gears27a each of which is coaxial with a hub shaft 36 of the roll, and iscarried by an eccentric ring 27 rotatably mounted on the hub shaft 36.This auxiliary shaft 25 is parallel to the hub shaft 36, and has an endextending beyond the end of the roll and carrying an additional gear 26.This additional gear 26 functions as an epicyclic gear in that it rollsaround a normally fixed gear that is identical with the gear 271:. Thisepicyclic gear, in rolling around a normally fixed sun gear, holds eachgear 27a and ring 27 stationary while the hub shaft 36 rotates, butpermits the angular position of each of the eccentric rings 27 to beadjusted by adjusting the angular position of the normally fixed sungear. In this way, each of the eccentric rings 27 remains in a normallyfixed but angularly adjustable position while the roll rotates.

All of the shafts 10-14 and bars 20, 22 are supported in gears at theends of the roll in the same way as in the prior patent.

Journalled upon the eccentric rings 27 by means of bearings 38 which areeccentric to the hub shaft 36 are a series of spiders 30 having spokesbetween which the shafts extend, and the spokes carry driving rings 32which make pin and slot connection at 33 with board driving treads 34which have external surfaces for cooperation with the second roll 39 toform a nip between such surfaces and the second roll for driving board40' through the nip. The spiders 30 rotate with the main roll 41 butabout an axis which is eccentric to the hub shaft 36 of the main roll41. The board driving treads 34 are rubber or polyurethane (for example)faced and are located adjacent to the slotter heads and may slide alongthe hub shaft 36 with the spiders 30 when the slotter heads arelaterally adjusted, the eccentric rings 27 carrying the bearings '38 andgears 27a being slidable as well as rotatable on the hub shaft 36. Thedriving rings 32 are driven by the drive bar 22 which provides anOldham-type coupling between the driving rings 32 and the main roll 41.

It will be appreciated that the eccentric and spider arrangement is onlynecessary on one roll 41 of the roll pair.

It will be appreciated that nip adjustment is effected by rotation ofthe eccentric ring or rings 27 to shift the center of rotation of thedriving ring or rings 32; the range of adjustment needed, i.e. the totaleccentricity is relatively small, e.g. of the order of to accommodateall possible thicknesses of material.

It will be appreciated that the male and female knives on the respectiverolls may remain in constant mesh, the roll pair may be driven by asingle pair of gears in constant mesh but the nip can be adjusted so asto produce the ideal drive relation with board passing through the nipso as to avoid slip but equally avoid crushing the board.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for driving corrugated board comprising a pair of rolls, arotatable eccentric ring associated with one of the rolls, a drivingring rotatably mounted on the eccentric ring and having an externalsurface for cooperation with the second roll to form a nip between suchsurface and the second roll for driving board through the nip, the axisof rotation of the driving ring being eccentric to the axis of rotationof the eccentric ring to permit such nip to be adjusted by rotation ofthe eccentric ring, and an Oldham-type coupling between the driving ringand the first roll.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the first roll comp-rises ahub shaft on which the eccentric ring is rotatably mounted, and thedriving ring is carried by a spider rotatably mounted on the eccentricring.

3. Apparatus according to claim 2, comprising an auxiliary shaftextending parallel to the hub shaft and between the arms of the spider,and a gear fixed on the auxiliary shaft and meshing with a gear that iscarried by the eccentric ring and is coaxial with the hub shaft, forturning the eccentric ring on the hub shaft.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 492,072 2/1893 Vaught. 519,7395/1894 Sawyer 2715l X 2,900,839 8/1959 Mackintosh 71-571 EDWARD A.SROKA, Primary Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R. 226176

